Resistbot helps voters oppose Trump by faxing their text messages to Congressional reps
vox.com/2017/3/9/14865882/resistbot-texts-faxes-senators-representatives
Tess TownsendMarch 9, 2017
Aude Guerrucci-Pool / Getty
In the weeks following the election of President Donald Trump, tips for how people can voice their concerns to public officials circulated on social media and on Google docs.
Now a group of techies wants to make reaching officials in Congress even easier. All you have to do is text. Called “Resistbot,” you’d be right to assume this app is meant to be a thorn in Trump’s side.
“We will faithfully deliver any message our users send in, but the voice of the product is for the liberals and conservatives in opposition to the Trump administration,” wrote co-creator Jason Putorti, a designer for AngelList who volunteered for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, in an email to Recode.
Emphasis on “conservatives” is Putorti’s.
This is a nonprofitside-project for those involved. Volunteering on the project in addition to Putorti is Eric Ries, CEO of startup Long-Term Stock Exchange and author of “The Lean Startup,” a book on entrepreneurship. More than a dozen others, including about half a dozen employees of Twilio, are also helping out, according to Putorti.
Launched Wednesday, Resistbot faxes users’ texted messages to officials. Just type “resist” and hit send to 50409, and the automated bot will ask your name and your zip code. The zip code is used to determine who your public officials are. Then you type in your message.
The first message you send will go, by default, to your Senators. The bot is supposed to also help users send messages to Representatives after interacting more with the user, according to the app website.
The site says Resistbot creators have confirmed messages are actually received by congressional staffers.
Sending a text message to reach your Senator or Representative may sound less impactful than making a phone call or stopping by their office in person, but Putorti said faxes and emails “are considered just as effective or more so [than phone calls] because there’s no way to truly verify if a call is from a constituent.”
“What staffers need are tallies, turning constituent input into a count of support for or against. Ideally there would be a much better system for this but our democracy isn't perfect, it's incredibly messy,” he said.
She’s behind you! 10 best tweets as Donald Trump is photobombed by Hillary Clinton
thepoke.co.uk/2017/03/08/shes-behind-10-best-tweets-donald-trump-photobombed-hillary-clinton
John Plunkett. Updated March 8th, 2017
Donald Trump took time out from his busy tweeting/golfing schedule to ambush, sorry, surprise this bunch of school kids on a tour of the White House.
You never know what surprises may await you on a @WhiteHouse tour! pic.twitter.com/VNLpoXRZs4
— Cliff Sims (@CSims45) March 7, 2017
Unbeknown to the greatest ever presenter of TV’s The Apprentice, there was a giant painting of his least favourite woman behind him.
Trump just surprised visitors on a White House tour. Crowd loved it. Notice the wall behind him. pic.twitter.com/iogSRJGXJo
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 7, 2017
Twitter took that painting and ran with it. It’s still running. Here’s 10 of our favourites.
1.
2.
Visitors: "Who's that guy standing in front of a portrait of the president?" pic.twitter.com/xjC7sAVLXM
— Matt Nedostup (@nedostup) March 7, 2017
3.
now is the time for this hillary painting to come to life and strike as his back's turned pic.twitter.com/2d905fnr73
— Anne T. Donahue (@annetdonahue) March 7, 2017
4.
If you look closely, you can see the eyes on the portrait moving.#Trumpcare #TuesdayMotivation https://t.co/K2FCRD3hQq
— Mark Suleymanov (@TheMARKOut1) March 7, 2017
5.
This is bad. pic.twitter.com/g3XQuIrFnt
— Daniel Spenser (@DanSpenser) March 7, 2017
6.
Don't look now, @realDonaldTrump, but I think Obama hid cameras in Hillary's eyeballs. https://t.co/ly7Qbw8AgY
— Wes Platt (@WesPlattTweets) March 7, 2017
7.
But son, there were emails! https://t.co/TVhBvgcCAx
— Paul Zuchowski (@PaulZ_98) March 7, 2017
8.
DON'T call attention to it! He'll have it replaced with a LIFE SIZE picture of HIMSELF (or Putin?). https://t.co/YkAj0BktFb
— Barbara (@barmb17123) March 7, 2017
9.
BREAKING: Hillary Clinton Painting Comes to Life, Causes Donald Trump to Crap His Pants During White House Tour pic.twitter.com/yBzcZwExAH
— Born Miserable (@bornmiserable) March 8, 2017
10.
We’ve figured out the terrifying reason behind the Hillary Clinton painting in President Trump’s White House. (By @MattBinder) pic.twitter.com/O3h7hYLRKT
— CAFE (@cafedotcom) March 7, 2017